Nightmare Past, Uncertain Future
by ohkami majin
Summary: AU yaoi YYxY One night at the local bar Yuugi meets the man of his dreams, Atemu. But when Atemu's harsh past comes back to haunt him, Yuugi gets caught in the crossfire. Can their relationship survive through the secrets of the past Atemu didn't eve
1. It Began at the Bar

A/N: Here I go…starting another story. :sweatdrop: Well, I've actually had this one written for a while, but was waiting to post it until after I updated something else. But I haven't posted anything in a while so I decided to put this up now.

Dislclaimer: You get the idea…

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Yuugi sat at the local bar with Jounouchi. He never really liked the loud noises and bustling crowds at the bar, he much preferred spending the nights at home. But Jou didn't seem to mind it as much, and it was their tradition to come every Friday night.

He sighed as his friend order another drink. Truth was, the unpleasant bar atmosphere wasn't the only thing getting him down. What was bothering him the most now, as it had been for several months, was loneliness. Since he and Anzu had broken up when she went away to college Yuugi hadn't been in any relationships, and it was starting to takes it's toll on him. The fact that Jou and Kaiba had started going steady didn't help, since spending a mere few minutes with the couple was known to cause Yuugi to mope for the remainder of the day.

"Hey Yuge, are ya feeling alright?" Jou asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He lied.

Yuugi sighed again. He wanted desperately to go home, but he knew that Jou was having a good time and didn't want to ruin it for him.

"Is this seat taken?" He was asked by a deep silky voice. Yuugi found himself somewhat attracted to the voice, and when he looked up to see who was addressing him, he found himself even more attracted to him. His gaze was met by that of sharp, crimson eyes, and this man had hair strangely similar to his, with slightly wilder bangs. Not to mention his exotic bronzed skin. Yuugi couldn't help but stare.

Of course, his staring and failure to answer the question quickly earned him a rather odd look from the stranger. "Are you OK?" he asked in that rich voice that Yuugi had already come to love.

"Oh, Yeah, I'm sorry." Yuugi replied, mentally cursing himself for acting so stupid, "And no, no one is sitting there."

The stranger took a seat in the bar stool next to Yuugi, who couldn't help but continue to stare. He was just so beautiful it was hard to believe.

"I'm guessing that there isn't something on my face…" The stranger chuckled, and Yuugi felt his face go flush. He turned away hoping that the stranger hadn't noticed.

"No, I-I was just…" He wasn't really sure what to say, since 'I was just checking out your absolutely gorgeous face' didn't seem like the most appropriate response.

He chuckled again, "It's alright, I think you're pretty cute, too." The blush on Yuugi's face increased, "My name's Atemu by the way. Atemu Zahur."

"Yuugi Moutou." Yuugi replied.

"Well Yuugi Moutou, could I possibly have the honor of buying you a drink?"

Yuugi couldn't believe this was happening. It had to be some sort of trick, didn't? What were the chances of the man of his dreams walking into the bar, sitting down next to him and flirting with him? "Thanks, but no," he replied, "I've already had my limit."

Atemu looked at the lone glass sitting on the bar in front of Yuugi and quirked an eyebrow. Yuugi pointed to Jounouchi on his opposite side. "I'm the designated thinker." Atemu laughed and Yuugi felt his insides melt a little more. Atemu's laugh was perfect, no; Atemu was perfect, down to the very last detail.

It was then that Jou noticed his friend's new companion and the lovesick look on Yuugi's face. "Well, you two seem to be doin' fine on your own, so I think I'll give ya some privacy." He rose from his seat and started to stumble his way towards the door.

"But, Jou, how are you going to get home? You can't drive right now." Yuugi asked worriedly.

"Not a problem. I'll get Seto to come pick me up." After that he disappeared in the crowd.

"He didn't possibly mean Seto Kaiba, did he?" Atemu asked.

"That's the one. Why, do you two know each other?"

"We've met." He answered dryly.

"You want to come back to my place for a while?" Atemu asked after they had left the bar.

Yuugi face went flush again, he was still having trouble believing that this night wasn't a dream, but he prayed to every god he could think of that it wasn't. "I'd love to, but my grandfather's probably already wondering where I am, I don't want to make him worry." He would have given anything to go with Atemu, to spend more time with him, but he also didn't want his grandfather up all night sick with worry.

"Does your grandfather not realize that you're old enough to take care of yourself?"

"Well, yeah, but he doesn't really like to admit how old I am, because that would mean admitting how old he is."

Atemu laughed his perfect laugh again. "Can I at least give you a ride home, then?"

"A ride home sounds good to me."

"Good," Atemu said, starting to walk to where his vehicle was parked, "And don't worry, I have an extra helmet."

"Helmet?"

Atemu sat down on gold Harley Road King. Yuugi found himself staring again. 'He looks nice on a motorcycle, then again, he'd look nice no matter what he was doing.' Atemu tapped his hand on the second seat, motioning for Yuugi to sit. He did so, and Atemu handed him a helmet.

"I drive pretty fast, is that alright with you?"

"It's fine."

Atemu reached back and took Yuugi's hands, wrapping them around his own waist. "Hold on tight." He said. 'You don't have to tell me twice.' Yuugi thought. Atemu revved up the engine, and the next thing Yuugi knew they were heading down the street at what he was sure was at least 100 mph over the speed limit.

'I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do when grandpa hears me get dropped off by this thing.' Yuugi thought, as he tightened his grip around Atemu's waist.

* * *

Yuugi sat on a bench at the park with Jou and Kaiba. Since their meeting the night before, he was unable to get Atemu off his mind. He had come to the realization that he was in love with a complete stranger. He and Atemu had met the night before, but beside his name, Yuugi knew absolutely nothing about him. He wanted to find out more about Atemu, and he knew exactly how to do so. He was still contemplating whether or not it was a good idea, however, because when Jounouchi had mentioned Kaiba the night before, Atemu had gotten fairly angry, and he wasn't sure if talking about Atemu would cause the same result, or worse, from Kaiba.

"Kaiba, do you know anyone named Atemu Zahur by any chance?" He finally asked.

Kaiba nearly choked on the soda that he'd been taking a sip of. "Why on Earth do you ask?"

"Cuz Yuge met 'im at the bar last night, and now hez got da hots for 'im." Jou jumped into the conversation, earning a glare from Yuugi.

"Yeah I know him," Kaiba answered, "we're cousins." A look of shock graced both Yuugi's and Jounouchi's faces.

"He didn't seem too happy last night when Jou mentioned your name, did something happen to make you not get along or something?" Yuugi hoped that by continuing to ask Kaiba questions he could learn a little bit more about Atemu himself.

"In a way, yes. For you to really understand I'd have to tell you the whole story, if you want, it's a long one though." Yuugi nodded his approval, mentally smirking at his success.

"Alright, it starts with my uncle, Mamoru Kaiba. He was very different from my father, he wasn't really work driven and didn't give a damn about the family business. He was more of an adventurer, and at one point his travels took him to Egypt. While in Egypt he met a woman who he fell in love with and eventually married. Her name was Shukura Zahur. Then they had a son, and that's where Atemu comes into play in the story."

"So Atemu's half Egyptian?" Yuugi smiled, he knew there was something exotic about Atemu.

"Yes, and that made my father absolutely furious. You see he doesn't believe in what he likes to call 'crossbreeding.' So that caused a bit of a rift between my father and my uncle. I still saw Atemu occasionally when we were kids, but I didn't really know him that well since he had a tendency to talk to his cat more than he talked to people."

"You know, you still haven't explained why Atemu doesn't like you."

"I'm getting there. See, when Atemu was about five his mother got sick and she passed away. So it was just him and his dad for a while. When he was twelve, however, his father died, too, under mysterious circumstances." Yuugi cringed a little, he knew what it was like to loose both of your parents, and it wasn't easy. "Of course, at that point problems arose as far as who was going to get legal guardianship of Atemu. A quick background check determined he had no living relatives on his mother's side, and on his father's side was just my father. So the social worker came and asked my father if he would adopt Atemu. But he said that Atemu was just 'useless, half breed trash' and refused. Atemu got dumped in an orphanage after that, and he hates my entire family now. Not that I really blame him. The orphanage didn't last long, though, after about a week or two he ran away, and as far as I am aware he's been living alone ever since. And that's all I know."

"Wow he's been living by himself since he was twelve? That's crazy." Yuugi's head was spinning from the story Kaiba had just told him.

"Yeah, but like I said he's always been a rather anti-social person, besides with cats. I don't think it really bothers him."

"Well, the Atemu I met last night didn't seem too anti-social."

"He probably got lonely after all dose years alone." Jou stated.

"That's true. Jeez, that story ended up leaving me with even more questions than I started with."

"I don't have any more answers to give you, but you could always go ask him. He lives in the apartment building on the other side of town. You know, the one across from the pizza place."

"Thanks, Kaiba. I think I will, I really want to see him again anyway."

* * *

Yuugi stood in the elevator, waiting for it to reach his destination. The man at the front desk had told him the Atemu lived in apartment 316, so he was headed to the third floor. He found Atemu's room towards the end of the hall, and after a short contemplation he knocked on the door. About a minute later the door opened and Atemu peered out, looking slightly confused.

"Oh, hey Yuugi. Come on in, we were just about to have lunch, you can join us." Yuugi's features fell slightly. We? Was it possible that Atemu had some significant other that he hadn't known about? Seeing the upset look on Yuugi's face Atemu added, "Don't worry. By 'us' I mean my cat and I. You aren't allergic to cats, are you?" Yuugi shook his head as he entered Atemu's apartment.

"Let's see," Atemu said, opening the refrigerator door, "There's some pizza leftover from my lunch yesterday."

"Sounds good to me." Yuugi answered. Feeling something warm against his leg, he looked down to see a pair of liquid green eyes staring back up at him. Closer examination showed the eyes to belong to a creature who almost completely black, with the exception of a golden streak running down it's back. Atemu's cat. "Wow, Atemu, she's beautiful."

"Yeah, I've never seen another cat quite like her, I've also never seen her take to another person so quickly. She's usually shy around people, but she really seems to like you."

"What's her name?" Yuugi asked, leaning down and scratching underneath the cat's chin, causing it to purr even louder than it already had been.

"Her name is Urbi. It's an Egyptian name that means princess. According to my mother, she and I were born at the exact same time."

"What a coincidence. It's almost like you two are connected or something." Yuugi said.

"I wouldn't doubt it actually. I swear, sometimes it's like she knows what I'm thinking."

"If you don't mind my asking," Atemu said after they'd sat down at his kitchen table and started to eat, "How did you find out where I live?"

"Well I, um, asked Kaiba…" Yuugi wasn't sure if his answer would make Atemu angry, since he didn't like Kaiba.

"I see. I suppose he told you a lot more about me too, right?"

"Yes, but please don't be mad at him. I asked him to tell me, I just wanted to know more about you. But he didn't know that much, and I was still wondering-"

"How my father died?" Atemu finished his sentence, and Yuugi nodded, slightly ashamed. He knew it wasn't easy to talk about deceased parents, and Atemu already seemed fairly upset that Kaiba had told him so much. But Atemu continued regardless, " 'mysterious circumstances,' that's what they called it. Personally, I don't think murder is all that mysterious."

"He was murdered?!" Yuugi was completely astonished by this new bit of information.

"Yeah, but I'm the only one who knows it. I tried to tell the police what had happened, but they didn't believe me. Told me to 'Leave it to the professionals.' And of course, the autopsy showed no sign of murder; it showed no sign of anything. They couldn't figure out what had happened. They still didn't listen to me though."

"What could have happened that they wouldn't have been able to find it with an autopsy?" Yuugi knew he shouldn't be asking Atemu to continue to talk about it, but the story just seemed to be getting more and more confusing.

"I don't know exactly what they did, but I know who it was. There was this group of men who had shown up for the first time not long after my mom had passed away. At first they seemed to be in pretty good relations with my dad. But after a while they started asking him for something every time they came. I never figured out what it was they wanted, but whatever it was my dad was not interested in giving it up. They started getting more and more impatient, until one day I got home from getting some groceries for my dad, and he was gone. But since I wasn't there when it happened, and I was just a kid, no one believes me. They said it was just some story that I made up because I wanted to explain it to myself."

"Did they ever get the thing that they wanted?" Yuugi mentally cursed himself for asking the question.

"I'm not sure, but I never saw them again after that, so I always just assumed they did. And as far was what happened after that. Well, when I ran away from the orphanage, which I'm sure you heard about," Yuugi nodded, "I came here. Suzuki-san, that's the man who owns this place, was always really good friends with my dad. So I asked him if I could live with him for a while. He let me, then when I old enough I moved into this apartment. And that's the whole story." Atemu sighed. Yuugi could tell that reliving the events was difficult for him, and he almost looked on the verge of tears. Yuugi felt awful about asking him all the questions.

"I'm sorry, Atemu, I shouldn't have made you tell me all that. I know how you feel, because both my parents died, too, when I was very little." He went over to Atemu and embraced him in a warm hug. Atemu smiled, returning the gesture.

TBC

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A/N: There it is, the first chapter. I'm proud, because this is pretty long by my standards. Oh and yes, I'm aware Kaiba was very OOC in this, which will probably be fixed later in the story, though from here on out he isn't very important. 


	2. The First Date

Disclaimer: Me no own, you no sue.

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Nightmare Past, Uncertain Future Ch. 2: The First Date

Yuugi half-skipped into the game shop, wanting to scream out in joy. Atemu had invited him to go out again that night. Their destination had been deemed a surprise, but where they were going wasn't any concern of Yuugi's anyway. As long as he was with Atemu, it didn't matter where they were to him. All he knew was that he wanted to spend as much time with Atemu as possible, and it seemed as if Atemu might want the same, which made him that much more happy. He found it hard to believe, that he'd known Atemu for only two days, and already he felt like he was in love, but he didn't see how his feelings could be anything short of love.

Yuugi's grandfather, noticing his grandson's odd behavior, laughed. "Yuugi!" he said happily, "I can't remember the last time I saw you this happy! What's got you in such a good mood?"

"Well grandpa, two nights ago I met the person of my dreams and tonight I have a date!"

"That's great, Yuugi. So tell me, who's the lucky girl?"

Yuugi froze. Until that moment he'd forgotten that being in a relationship with another man wasn't exactly "normal." It hadn't bothered him, although he'd never been attracted to another man before, he knew he loved Atemu and as far as he was concerned that was all that mattered. But how would his grandfather react? He also knew, however, that trying to hide it wouldn't help the situation, and that his grandfather would want Yuugi to be honest with him, regardless of whether or not he approved.

"Actually, grandpa…_his _name is Atemu." He replied fairly sheepishly.

There was a pause, and Yuugi feared the worst, but his grandfather just smiled, "I'm happy for you Yuugi." Yuugi smiled too, because the look on his grandfather's face showed the true earnesty of his statement.

It was easily the longest he'd ever spent getting dressed. Every outfit he'd tried had been quickly discarded, whether it was "too flashy" or "too boring" or for whatever other reason. Finally he'd decided on the outfit currently adorning his body; a pair of simple black slacks, white button up shirt and denim jacket. He looked in his mirror and smiled, the outfit wasn't too casual or too dressy. In fact, it wasn't too anything; it was perfect. He added the final accessory, his trademark leather choker, or his "neck belt" as Jounouchi liked to call it.

Glancing at the clock Yuugi saw that it was 6:50. His timing was perfect; he was all ready and still had ten minutes before Atemu was supposed to arrive.

The bell that signaled the opening of the shop door rang. Grandpa stopped off the shelves behind the counter and turned around.

"Can I help you?" he asked his new customer.

A tan young man with ruby eyes and hair uncannily similar to Yuugi's entered through the door. "Yes, actually," he answered, "I'm looking for Yuugi."

_This must be Yuugi's new date. _Grandpa thought, giving Atemu the once over. He appeared to be a pretty nice guy. "Yuugi should be down any minute now. I assume you're his date…"

"Yes, I'm sorry, forgot to introduce myself. My name is Atemu."

"Well Atemu, I'm Yuugi's grandfather. Nice to meet you."

"Same." Atemu said, as he began to look at a display of duel monsters cards.

Yuugi walked up behind Atemu, glancing over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. He smiled, "You play?" Atemu nodded, "Cool. We should have a duel sometime."

"Alright, but I'll warn you now, I've never lost."

"Neither have I."

Atemu turned around to face Yuugi, who gasped. Atemu looked amazing. He was wearing black leather pants and a red leather shirt that accented not only the ripple of muscle in his chest, but his eyes as well. Covering that was a black leather jacket. Overall, the outfit left very little to the imagination.

"So, you ready to go?" Atemu asked.

"Oh…yeah, sorry." Yuugi said, shaking himself out of his daze.

Atemu chuckled. "You look great, by the way."

"Really?" Atemu nodded, and Yuugi beamed, "You do too." _Although great is a bit of an understatement. _Yuugi added to himself.

Atemu smiled his thanks. "The park isn't far from your house, so I figured we could walk. Is that ok with you?"

"We're going to the park?"

"Maybe…"

"Well that doesn't make any sense. And yes, walking is fine."

"Alright, then let's go."

Grandpa smiled as the two lovebirds left the shop. Atemu had wrapped his arm around Yuugi, and the two of them were snuggling together as they walked.

* * *

The two of them walked the park, talking about this and that, until Atemu finally came into a stop in front of the pond. 

"If you don't mind my asking, what was so secret about a trip to the park?" Yuugi questioned.

"Don't worry, we haven't gotten to the secret part yet." Atemu answered, heading towards the woods next to them.

"You're going off the path, you know."

"Well, this is the only way to get there, it's worth it though, come on now." He said, taking Yuugi's hand and heading into the woods.

After walking a little ways they came to what Yuugi could only describe as one of he most amazing things he'd ever seen. There, right in the middle of the public park woods, was a clearing. There was a stream running through it, which undoubtedly ran to the pond, and it was a circular shape. Atemu smiled.

"Beautiful, isn't it? My dad showed me this when I was little. It's where I like to come when I just want to think or be alone, you know, stuff like that?"

Yuugi felt his heart melt a little. In showing him this place, Atemu was showing Yuugi a piece of his soul. "Atemu, this is amazing."

"I'm glad you like it," Atemu said, embracing Yuugi in a hug, "Hmm…now that you're here what do you say we have a duel? Did you bring your deck?"

"I never leave it anywhere." He said, pulling his deck out of the inner pocket of his jacket.

"Alright, and what do you say we add some extra stakes to this duel?"

"Like what?"

"Nothing too serious, how about the winner of the duel gets to ask the loser one question, and the loser has to answer."

"Alright, I accept." Yuugi said excitedly, he could tell this was going to be the first challenging duel he'd had in a while.

"Looks like I win." Atemu stated smugly.

Yuugi couldn't believe it. No one had ever even come close to beating him in a duel, and Atemu had just walked all over him. He'd hardly even seemed challenged by the duel. But a deal was a deal, so now Atemu could ask him anything he wanted. Yuugi was prepared to answer whatever was thrown at him, contemplating to more obvious possibilities like whether or not he was a virgin, or how many people he'd ever dated or something of the like. The duel had caught him off guard, but this would not. "Well, you won, so you can ask me a question now."

"Oh yes, so what to ask…" Atemu began to make exaggerated thinking expressions, trying to figure out what to ask Yuugi. Yuugi was fairly surprised; he had assumed that since Atemu had made the challenge in the first place he knew exactly what he wanted to ask. He figured that Atemu was probably toying with him. But he wasn't going to fall for it; he refused to lose this game, refused to be caught off guard. "Can I kiss you?" Atemu suddenly blurted out.

Yuugi was caught off guard.

Of all the questioned Atemu could've asked him, that was the last he'd expected. 'Why is the sky blue?' had been a more probable outcome. He wasn't upset by Atemu's choice, in fact he wanted Atemu to kiss him very much, he just wasn't sure how to react.

"Uhh…" was the best he could muster.

Apparently Atemu got the message, because he leaned forward and pressed his lips rather firmly against Yuugi's. Yuugi felt a tingling sensation throughout his body, and he moaned into the kiss. Atemu nibbled on Yuugi's lower lip, and Yuugi granted him access into his mouth. Their tongues battled, but in the end Atemu remained dominant. They reluctantly broke off the kiss for lack of oxygen.

Yuugi mentally seethed, that was the third game he'd lost to Atemu that night.

* * *

Author's note: Well thatwas a little shorterthan I expected, but I'm really happy with the result. Please review and tell me what you think. 


	3. From Lost to Dinner and Back to Trouble

Review replies:

**Kibethan: **Glad you thought the last chapter was cute, and there's even more fluff for you to look forward to in this chapter.

**Yugi-is-my-one-and-only: **Yeah, losing is really the only option with Atemu, but I think Yuugi will learn to get over it, 'specially if he's getting' kisses from Atemu.

**Liliath: **Even more fluff and sweetness for you in this chapter

**Yamiseirei: **Whether or not this story will have a lemon is a very good question. I'd like for it to, but I've never written a lemon before and I'm not sure if I'm any good at it. So I'll try to write on, and if it sucks then I'll probably just leave it out. But I'll keep my hopes up that I'm able to do it.

**Redconvoy: **Yeah, this story has been fairly plotless up until this point. But that's all going to change soon…

**Hikaris-dark-side: **I'm glad you think this chapter is better. It's good to know I'm improving.

**Kitsunemajin: **Did you manage to wait? This did take me a long time, but then again it wouldn't be me if it didn't.

**Atemu Yugi Lover 34: **I'm glad you were so happy with my story. Here's your update.

**Souldreamer: **Yes, I was really happy with the end of that chapter. I'm hoping to have some more little competitive moments between Yuugi and Atemu throughout the story. But competitive in a good way, of course.

**Quill Masters: **Well, it certainly wasn't what I would consider soon, but here's an update.

**Milleniumgrl126: **Yeah, losing three games right in a row would be pretty painful for one's pride, 'specially for someone like Yuugi who never loses. But with Atemu around he'll probably have to get used to losing.

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO.

* * *

The sun was shining brightly as Yuugi walked down the street. He couldn't help but notice that it had been sunny since the day he met Atemu. Sure, they'd only known each other for a week, and it was summer time, but Yuugi still felt that it was more than just a coincidence.

He was going to meet Jou at the arcade, but for a reason that he could no longer remember he'd taken a different route than normal. Due to this, Yuugi found himself in an area of town he rarely visited, not entirely sure where he was going. But he shrugged it off, reminding himself that it was a beautiful day and that all the walking was good for him anyway.

He was soon sidetracked, however, by a sign reading "Rare Comic Shop." Intrigued by the possibility of increasing his collection, he decided to do a little window-shopping. Walking up to the window and peaking inside, he couldn't believe what he saw. The bronzed skin, the deep, red eyes, the tri-colored hair. There was no question about it; the man standing behind the counter of the shop was Atemu. What were the odds that he would accidentally stumble across the place where Atemu worked? There was no way that this was just a coincidence. Thanking whatever deity had caused him to get "lost," he entered the shop.

Yuugi approached the counter but he kept off to the side, seeing as that Atemu was occupied. Standing in front of him were three girls who looked to still be in high school, giggling happily.

"Please do it again!" One of them asked.

"Alright." Atemu said with exasperation in his voice, though Yuugi could tell he was trying to hide it. Yuugi then noticed for the first time a deck of cards in Atemu's hand, and suddenly he understood. Grinning, he leaned back against a shelf to watch the show.

Atemu cast him a glance, a smirk playing across his lips. Yuugi blushed slightly, recalling the night only a few days earlier when those lips had been pressed against his.

The girls, not seeing whom the smirk had been directed at, giggled again.

Atemu began his card trick, easily playing the three girls right into his hand from the very beginning. It went on for a moment or so until, "Is this your card?" Atemu asked, holding up the ace of hearts. They all squealed in delight.

"Your card tricks are so amazing!" One of them said, earning vigorous nods of agreement from the others.

"I don't know, I think I saw a five-year-old do that trick once." Yuugi commented playfully.

"Oh really?" Atemu asked coolly. The girls, who had no idea what was going on, glared daggers at Yuugi. "Well, if I hope to impress you then I suppose I should stick to duel monsters." He added, embracing Yuugi in a hug and placing a chaste kiss on his forehead. Yuugi nuzzled his face into the crook of Atemu's neck, choosing to ignore Atemu's little reminder of his loss a few nights prior.

The three girls turned to leave, looking rather disappointed. Yuugi heard one of them whisper to her friends "Gay. It figures," and he couldn't help but smile.

"You don't happen to have a weird thing for younger girls I should know about, do you?" Yuugi asked jokingly.

Atemu rolled his eyes. "Hardly. But those three seem to have a thing for me, they come in here everyday asking me to do card trick upon card trick for them. I can't understand why."

_Duh. Because you're absolutely gorgeous. _Yuugi decided to keep the thought to himself; although he was surprised Atemu wasn't aware of his good looks. Yuugi wouldn't have been surprised if Atemu had been having similar problems his whole life. But on the other hand, his opinion was pretty biased.

Yuugi decided to change the subject. "This is pretty shady, you know. Working in some random comic shop in the back streets of town." Yuugi laughed.

"You just happen to walk into the random comic shop in the back streets of town that I work in, right in the middle of my shift, and you're calling me shady?"

Great. Now Atemu thought he was a stalker. _Real smooth Yuugi, real smooth. _

Atemu saw the worried look on his face. "I was just kidding, aibou," he said, wrapping his arms around Yuugi once again. "But how exactly _did _you find me here?"

Yuugi blushed at the name Atemu had called him, 'partner.' "Well, I sort of got lost, and when I saw this shop I decided to peek into the window to see what kind of stuff they had, and just happened to see you in here."

Atemu chuckled, "How, may I ask, do you get lost in the city you live in?"

Yuugi decided to ignore the comment, "Well, I decided to go a different way than normal today and ended up in a part of town I'm not really familiar with. I was on my way to the arcade-Oh no! I was supposed to meet Jou at the arcade and I totally forgot! And that was probably an hour or so ago."

"I'm sure Jou won't mind. You can't help that you got lost." Atemu replied, stifling laughter.

Yuugi glared at him. He was about to reply, but the door the back room opened. A middle aged man stuck his head out, "Come on, Zahur, I pay you to sell comics, not to stand around and flirt. Back to work."

Atemu glared at the now closed door for a moment before turning back to Yuugi. "That was my manager, so I guess I need to get back to work now." He said sounding very disappointed.

"Yeah, and I have to get to the arcade before Jounouchi gives up on me a leaves. As soon as I _find _it."

"You really aren't far from it, actually. Just follow this street down to the end, skip like three turns and then take a left onto 9th street. That is the street the arcade is on." Atemu added the last bit with a laugh.

"I know that!" Yuugi exclaimed angrily. He had the feeling Atemu wouldn't let him live down getting lost for a very long time.

"Good bye, aibou." Atemu said, kissing Yuugi gently on the lips.

"Good bye, Atemu." Yuugi replied once they had broken off the kiss, which wasn't until quite a few moments after. But as far as Yuugi was concerned, it still wasn't long enough.

With one last quick hug he turned to leave. He'd only gotten half way to the door, however, when a pair of strong arms wrapping around his waist stopped him, pulling him into an embrace from behind.

"Would you like to come over my place for dinner tonight?" Atemu whispered into his ear. Yuugi's face turned a dark shade of scarlet as he felt Atemu's hot breath running down the side of his face and neck. The only response he could muster was a nod. "How does 6:30 sound?" Another nod from Yuugi. "I'll see you later then." Placing a chaste kiss just behind Yuugi's ear, he pulled his arms away and returned to his post behind the counter of the shop.

When Yuugi left the shop he was still as red as a stop sign. One thing was for sure, that was the most seductive dinner invitation he'd ever received.

* * *

"Wow, Yuge. Dat Atemu guy must really like ya. Good for you." Jounouchi replied, not even bothering to look up from the game he was playing. Yuugi had expected Jou to be shocked when he recapped the day's previous events, but he didn't seem that surprised. He thought that what Atemu had done was a little, outrageous. But maybe it wasn't? He decided not to dwell on it too much; after all, it wasn't as if he hadn't enjoyed it…

"Just be careful he's not using you." Kaiba said. Yuugi glared at him, he knew there was absolutely no way Atemu was capable of such an atrocity. Sure, Kaiba had known Atemu much longer, but Yuugi still knew that he was right.

"He would never do something like that," Yuugi defended, "Besides, he invited me over to _his _house for dinner, if he wanted to mooch off of me, then he would have-"

"I don't mean for money, Yuugi." Kaiba cut him off. Yuugi was fairly shocked. Kaiba couldn't mean what he thought he meant, right?

"You mean for…for…"

"Yes, Yuugi, I mean for sex."

Yuugi felt the blood quickly rising to his cheeks, and he was sure that his face had turned an unprecedented shade of red. The thought of sex had never even occurred to him, let alone the possibility that it was the only thing Atemu wanted him for.

"Awe, Seto, ya shouldn't scare people like dat." Jou reprimanded. He turned to Yuugi, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry 'bout it, pal. Atemu seemed like a good guy, I'm sure he's not tryin' to use ya. Besides, if all he wanted was ta sleep wit ya, he would've already tried it by now."

Yuugi rolled his eyes. He'd given up trying to understand Jounouchi's logic a long time ago. "Thanks, I think."

* * *

Yuugi knocked on the door to Atemu's apartment apprehensively. He knew that he was being stupid, but he couldn't help but worry about what Kaiba had said to him earlier. After all, Atemu had seemed too good to be true from the very start. What if this relationship really wasn't anything that special to him at all? It already meant almost everything to Yuugi.

He was jarred from his thoughts by the doorknob beginning to turn. The door opened, and Atemu stood before him in all his beautiful, leather-clad glory.

"Hello, Yuugi." Atemu smiled at him warmly, and all of Yuugi's fears were instantly erased. The look on Atemu's face showed nothing short of the purest sincerity, he felt awful that he had doubted him even for a second. He embraced Atemu in a firm hug. Atemu returned the gesture, nuzzling his face into Yuugi's hair. For a moment, Yuugi thought he heard Atemu purring, but he soon realized it was just his cat, which was rubbing against Yuugi's leg.

"Well, we don't have to stand in the hallway all night," Atemu said after they'd broken apart from the hug, "Come on in." He took Yuugi's hand and gently guided him into the apartment.

Although Yuugi had been in Atemu's apartment once before, he hadn't taken the time to really observe his surroundings. It was by no means an extravagant place, but it was also far from run-down. He had a green shag carpet, which covered everything except the kitchen. The couch was green as well, and it looked to Yuugi like the kind of couch that you sank into when you sat down. Across from the couch was a T.V., and in the back of the room there was a desk with a computer on it. The walls were a light beige color, and were adorned with various pictures.

One picture in particular caught Yuugi's eye. It was on the wall to his right, just as he walked through the door. There was a woman in the picture, probably in her mid-twenties. She had long black hair, which had faint red highlights in it. Her skin was bronze, her eyes were a sparkling ruby color and she wore an absolutely beautiful smile on her face. Standing next to her was a man of about the same age. The man was quite tall, he had a strong build, and his hair was short, black and well kept. His eyes were an icy blue shade that Yuugi found extremely familiar. He had his right arm wrapped around the woman's waist, holding her close to him in a loving manner. His left arm was holding onto the leg of the little boy who was sitting on his shoulders. The boy looked to be about four and he was waving to the camera. He had bright crimson eyes, and gravity-defying hair…

Yuugi smiled. It was a picture of Atemu and his parents. "Wow Atemu, you-"

"Look just like my mother?" Yuugi nodded and Atemu chuckled, "Yeah, I get that a lot. Well, I used to at least. Anyway, are you hungry?" Atemu started to head towards the kitchen and Yuugi followed suite. "starved." He replied.

"Well, I made spaghetti. I know it's not very romantic, but I'm not a very good cook, so it's the best I can do."

"Spaghetti's great." Yuugi replied. In his opinion it was romantic too, but, he thought, maybe Atemu had never seen the movie Lady and the Tramp before. He began to envision himself and Atemu sharing a plate of spaghetti and accidentally eating the same piece. The dream was quickly shattered, however, by Atemu placing two plates of spaghetti onto the table. They sat down and began to eat.

"You know," Yuugi said, taking another bite of his spaghetti, "for being made by someone who supposedly can't cook, this is very good."

"I'm glad you like it. Well, Yuugi, what do you say that after dinner we have a duel monsters rematch?"

"Alright, but only on one condition."

Atemu arched a brow, "Alright, let's hear it."

"If I win, you have to kiss me again."

"Ok by me, but if I win then I get to kiss you again."

"It's a deal."

* * *

"I think we may have finally located the boy, sir."

"Good. Do you have the information on him I requested?"

"Of course, sir." He pulled a folder out of his robe, handing it to his master. A tanned hand reached out to grab it. He opened it up and looked through it's contents.

"This is not right. I told you that the boy you were looking for would be a Kaiba. This boy's name is Moutou Yuugi."

"We tried searching for a boy by the name Kaiba, sir, but the only one we were able to located was a one Kaiba Seto. He did not fit the criteria at all, but we watched him for a while, just to be safe. While we were, we saw this boy, and he seemed to be the one you were looking for."

The master seemed to look at the file contemplatively. "He does seem to be a lot like the boy we were searching for."

"Just like you described, sir. Twenty two-year-old male, two deceased parents and he fits the physical description perfectly. The name may be an alias. After all, he has been able to keep himself hidden for ten years now, maybe that's why."

"Yes, that seems right. Well done, I do believe you're going to have to pay little Moutou Yuugi a visit tonight," he paused, looking done at the file once again to find the information he was seeking. "A visit to the Kame Game Shop."

"Yes, master Malik." The servant promptly left.

A/N: I should probably point out that I don't own lady and the tramp either. Well, other than that please R&R and I'll see you next chapter.


	4. A Grave Misunderstanding

A/N: Man, I have got to be the worst updater in the whole world. I haven't posted this since August or something like that. Really sorry for the long wait, this chapter is a tad longer than the others, hopefully that might make up for it. And there is also some angsty stuff in this chapter, at least my version of angst. I'm for of a happy story writer, so I'm not sure if it came out any good or not. But this couldn't exactly be a happy chapter…

Oh, and one more quick note, I know I had Jounouchi talking with his Brooklyn accent in earlier chapters, but I sort of got tired of typing it all the time. I know it's bad to change my writing style mid story like that, but he's just talking regular now. You can just imagine the accent if need be.

Disclaimer: Maybe I'll ask for the rights to Yuugiou for Christmas…

* * *

Atemu looked at his watch apprehensively. 10:37. He and Yuugi were supposed to meet here, at his apartment, over half an hour ago. So why wasn't Yuugi there yet?

"Do you think maybe he overslept?" Atemu asked, looking down at Urbi, who was rubbing against his leg. Her big green eyes looked up at him in understanding, as if she knew exactly what was troubling him. She mewled.

"Go to his house? I don't know, what if he was just held up by something? I wouldn't want to seem rude."

She pawed angrily at his leg. "Alright, alright. I'll go, but if he gets mad I'm blaming you." He smirked, knowing full well that Yuugi would never get angry about something like this. Urbi mewled happily and dashed toward the door. Atemu grabbed his helmets and left.

* * *

_The previous evening…_

Yuugi was sleeping peacefully in his bed. Of course, that was to be expected, since it was just past 11:30 in the morning. The cloaked figured looked down at his blissfully ignorant form with a smirk. Yuugi had no idea what he was in for.

Another man, also covered completely by a purple cloak, entered the room. "The old man's sound asleep." He said, a twisted grin crossing his face, "And it's safe to say he won't be waking for quite a while."

The first man looked down at Yuugi worriedly as his companion spoke. He shifted a little, but still remained asleep. He replied to his companion in a hushed tone, "Perfect, Master Malik's sleeping charms never fail, he will be quite pleased. But are you positive this boy is the one we seek? Something doesn't seem right."

"Halim said he has been tracking the boy for a while, and he's positive this is the one. Master Malik agreed, and it is not our place to question his decision."

"You're right, I have spoken out of place. So let's just take the boy and be on our way before he awakens."

He reached down towards the bed, but just as his hand came in contact with Yuugi, he began to stir. The man pulled his hand away.

Yuugi slowly opened his eyes, trying to wake himself from his half-asleep state. He knew it was far too early to wake up, and wondered what had caused him to do so.

The answer was quite a surprise. He bolted upright, his eyes locking with the two mysterious men in his room. Before his brain could completely register the danger he was in, or he could even call to his grandfather for help, the second man said some sort of incantation in a language Yuugi didn't understand. He felt his eyelids begin to droop as a sudden wave of drowsiness came over him. He tried to fight it, but was unable to, and he soon collapsed on his bed, consumed by sleep.

Finishing his incantation, the man smiled triumphantly. That charm had proven extremely helpful, and extremely successful, to him for the second time that night. He watched as his partner lifted Yuugi's prone form off the bed, and began a different incantation.

The three of them disappeared in a wave of shadows.

* * *

Atemu's road king skidded to a stop outside the Kame Game Shop. He pulled off his helmet, unable to believe the sight before him. Several police cars, their lights flashing and sirens wailing, were parked outside. The area was blocked off by a yellow police line. Officers and investigators were examining the ground and building, looking for evidence of something.

Atemu felt his heart stop in his chest. Something was very wrong.

He raced toward the shop, ignoring the cries off the angry officers as he ducked under the yellow tape and entered the house. He stopped outside the door to Yuugi's bedroom, where his grandfather was talking to two more police officers. He still had not seen Yuugi.

"I just don't know what to say, Moutou-san," One of them said, the man looked utterly perplexed, "There's plenty of evidence to indicate that two men broke into your house and came to your grandson's room. But the trail just stops here. There are no clues showing how they left, and even if they had retraced their steps, we have tests accurate enough to detect that. It's almost as if they disappeared into thin air."

"Perhaps they went through the window?" Sugoroku suggested. He knew it was a shot in the dark, especially since Yuugi's bedroom marked the highest point in the building, but he was willing to suggest anything that might bring them closer to finding Yuugi.

"It's not possible," The other officer explained, "We thought the same, at first, but the window is shut right now. And there are no fingerprints indicating that anyone had opened or closed it. And yet another peculiar point is that there is no sign of a struggle here at all, almost as if he went quietly."

Now Atemu understood why he didn't see Yuugi. He was gone. Someone had taken him. A thousand thoughts began to run through Atemu's mind. Where had he been taken? Was he alright? Was he even alive? Atemu looked down at his hands; they were shaking. He was terrified. He couldn't remember being this scared since he had come home to find his father dead, ten years before.

"Well, we'll file a missing person report when we get back to the station, Moutou-san," The officer continued, "That's really all we can do right now. You just keep an eye out for anything unusual, and call us with any developments."

"Thank you very much, lieutenant," Sugoroku replied sadly.

The officer tipped his hat and turned to leave the room, noticing Atemu in the doorway for the first time. "Hey, you! This is a crime scene, you're not authorized to be here!"

Atemu jumped as the man addressed him, having completely forgotten about the room's other inhabitants. "Well…I was just…Yuugi and I had plans today and, and when he didn't show up I got worried so I came over and…and…" He didn't know what else to say, and wasn't really interested in talking anyway. It was all he could do at the moment to keep on his feet, to keep from breaking down and screaming. Yuugi was gone. They didn't know where. The police didn't know what to do…

Sugoroku walked over, wrapping an arm around Atemu. "It's alright, we're going to find him real soon," He said in reassurance, although he knew he wasn't convincing anyone. Not even himself. "Why don't you come downstairs and have something to drink?" He began to usher Atemu towards the stairs. The officers still looked angry that Atemu had intruded, but when they opened their mouths to speak he shook his head, "I appreciate all of your help, but if there is nothing else you can do here, then I won't keep you any longer." He would have liked for them to stay, to examine the area just one more time, if only for the sake of keeping his hopes up. But he knew there was nothing more that could be done, except to disappoint himself further. Not to mention that the last thing he wanted was for the officers to start interrogating Atemu.

Atemu spent the rest of the day with Sugoroku. The two of them said very little, but they were comforted at least a little by each other's presence. Both were still very worried about Yuugi's disappearance, and even more worried about the mysteries surrounding it.

At almost five-thirty, they heard a car pull up in front of the shop. A moment or so later, Jounouchi and Kaiba entered the room.

"I saw the five o'clock news and I came over right away!" Jounouchi exclaimed, "I can't believe it….awe man, I'm so sorry." He embraced Sugoroku in a fierce hug.

Kaiba sat down on the couch next to Atemu. The two acknowledged each other for a moment but said nothing.

Jounouchi pulled away from the hug and sat down next to Kaiba. "I just, I just don't understand. Who would have done something like this?"

"I have a hunch." Kaiba replied. Atemu caught Kaiba's gaze moving towards him.

"What are you trying to say?" Atemu asked.

"It's kind of ironic, don't you think, Atemu? First your father dies under mysterious circumstances, and now Yuugi disappears. And the means and motives behind Yuugi's capture still remain a mystery. Funny how your loved ones have a history of having mysterious things happen to them isn't it?"

Atemu tried to glare at Kaiba, but with everything that had happened that day weighing down on him, he could muster little more than an expression of hurt. And he was truly hurt by the meaning behind his cousin's words. "Seto, are you saying that you think _I'm _the one that kidnapped Yuugi?" Kaiba had also blamed him for his father's death, but he didn't want to go there right now, he didn't even want to think about it right now. Having lost Yuugi was bad enough.

"I'm saying you are definitely a possible, and highly likely, suspect, yes."

Atemu could hardly believe what he was hearing. His own cousin suspected him of kidnapping Yuugi. And even though they had never gotten along very well, the accusation still hurt him. "One problem, Seto, if it were me that had taken him, why would I be sitting here right now?"

"The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime."

Sugoroku could see that Atemu had been upset by Kaiba's words, so he attempted to intervene, "You are overlooking one important detail, Kaiba. For one thing, Atemu is a wonderful young man, who cares deeply for Yuugi, and I know he would never do anything like this. But even looking at the situation from an unbiased point of view, the evidence shows that two people were involved, not just one."

Atemu stood up from the couch. He smiled at Sugoroku, walking over to him and hugging the old man. "Thank you so much for letting me stay with you today."

"Nonsense, I enjoyed your company."

"Well, I appreciate it anyway, but I think I am going to head home now. My cat is probably on the verge of eating the furniture." He tried to chuckle, but the sound was strained.

"Alright, I'll call you if I hear anything new. Good night."

Atemu nodded his thanks. "Good night." He left. A few minutes later, they heard his motorcycle rev up and pull away.

Jounouchi glared at Kaiba. "What is your problem Seto? First you think he's using Yuugi, and now you accuse him of being Yuugi's kidnapper! I'm sure he's having a hard enough time dealing with all of this without you blaming him for it! Not to mention bringing up his father, which is obviously a sore spot for him!"

"I was just presenting the possibility," Kaiba replied, "But doesn't it seem more than a little odd to you?"

"It seems like a very unfortunate coincidence, yes, but that doesn't mean you can blame him."

"Trust me, I've known Atemu his whole life, and there is no such thing as coincidence with him. Too many strange, parallel occurrences like this happen when he's around; I gave up thinking that they were coincidences a long time ago. It's almost like he's cursed."

"Cursed! That's ridiculous, and even more so coming from you!"

Sugoroku pinched the bridge of his nose. He really was not in the mood for this. "Boys, please, this is not the time to be fighting."

Jounouchi stood up from the couch, "I'm sorry gramps. We won't bother you anymore, we were just leaving anyway." He started to leave, but stopped in the doorway, "If you need anything at all gramps, just call." With that he left, and Kaiba followed behind him, not saying a thing as he departed.

Sugoroku was alone again, and he wasn't sure whether to be happy, or to break down and cry.

* * *

Yuugi slowly began to awaken, but refused to open his eyes. He still felt groggy, and wanted nothing more but to roll over and go back to sleep. Especially after the terrible nightmare that he'd had. He knew that the thought of being kidnapped was a childish fear, but the dream had been extremely realistic, and it had rattled him.

He felt a sudden chill, and reached down to pull the blankets tighter around him. After groping at nothing for a moment, he realized the blankets were gone. The fear beginning to return, he reached down to touch the surface beneath him. It was not his bed.

Having been completely woken up, Yuugi opened his eyes and looked around. He was definitely not in his bed, or in his room. Wherever he was was very dark, and he couldn't see much. He was in some sort of barred off area, he didn't think it was a prison cell, but whatever it was, it was sufficiently enclosed to prevent him from escaping. It reminded him of the gates that barred off artifacts in a museum after closing, to prevent theft.

So he must be in a museum.

But that made little sense. Why would his captors bring him somewhere so public? In a few hours the museum would probably be opened and all kinds of people would be coming and going. Not to mention that there was most likely at least one security guard patrolling the building right now.

"Hello, little pharaoh." A voice said to him. He saw a figure approaching him in the darkness, and much like his captors, this figure was covered in a cloak.

"Pharaoh? I have no idea what you are talking about. Why have you taken me here?"

"Don't play dumb with me. You may have been able to hide for the past ten years by changing your name, but I am afraid it wasn't enough. We've found you."

Yuugi was getting more confused by the second. He most certainly was not a pharaoh, for one thing. But also, he _was _Yuugi Moutou, and as far as he was aware, he always had been. He had never changed his name. They had the wrong person. "I don't know who you are looking for, but it isn't me. You've got the wrong guy, so let me go."

"If you think I'll be so easily fooled, Pharaoh, you are sadly mistaken." The man stood right in front of the gate now, and Yuugi could see a pair of lilac eyes staring at him menacingly from beneath the cloak. The man reached into his robes for a moment, and Yuugi feared he might pull out a gun. But instead, he removed a small piece of paper. Holding it up, he asked, "Look familiar?"

It took Yuugi's eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness and see the image clearly. But when he could, he was surprised by just how familiar the picture looked. But it was not of him. It was a picture he had seen before in Atemu's apartment, the one of his family. Whoever this person was, he was after Atemu. "What do you want with him?" Yuugi demanded, but he immediately regretted it. Now even if he could prove to this guy that he had the wrong person, Yuugi had just informed him that he knew the real person they were looking for.

Lilac eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I…I mean, this person in the photograph, what do you plan to do with them? It's obvious by the way you are treating me that it's something bad, and I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt." But he knew it was already too late, his captor had easily seen through his lie.

The man chuckled, pulling back his hood. Bleach blonde hair and sun-kissed skin were revealed to Yuugi. The man's expression had changed to a look of mirth; an almost sadistic smirk playing it's way across his face. "It's no use trying to fool me, Pharaoh. I know who you are, and you will not be able to convince me otherwise if you continue to lie so poorly. I will be leaving you for now, but there is no need to worry, I'll be back. But you best get comfortable, you won't be going anywhere for a while. Some of my men have not returned from their duties yet, and the ritual cannot commence unless everyone is present." With that, he turned and walked away.

Yuugi's mind was reeling, a new sense of worry filling him. _Ritual? _

TBC 


	5. Message to readers

Hello everyone

You may have noticed that this is not a new chapter of the fanfiction. You may have also noticed that I have not updated my account in a very long time.

I apologize a lot for this, but consider this an official hiatus of all of my WIP stories on this account. I know this was probably implied by the year plus gaps of time without updates, but I just felt I needed to announce it properly. A lot of you guys have continued to be supportive of my work here, adding it to your favorites and watchlists and PM-ing me despite the extended absence, and I appreciate it a lot, so I didn't want to leave you hanging. I'm sorry that I couldn't offer you a real update for that support, but the truth is I've really fallen away from my activity in the Yuugiou fandom, and honestly looking back at my older writing it is nowhere near up to the level I'm at now (obviously) and it's a little embarrassing for me.

For those of you who want to keep the stories for your favorites and such, I'm leaving the account up with all the stories, but I don't intended to update this one ever again. I've just made a new account to actually start uploading work onto the site again, and if you'd like to check out my newer stuff you can now find it at www. Fanfiction. Net/chosentwilight (you know the drill now, no spaces), but you probably won't see much Yuugiou there. Again, if you just want the stories already posted here, I'm leaving them right where they are. If I ever do work on these again it will be in the form of starting from the beginning and totally rewriting them, and I'll probably do it on my new account, but that's not a guarantee.

So anyway, I apologize for the rather long winded explanation (I have a tendency to do that ;) and thank you all again for the great support you have given me with everything I've worked on.


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